In my last two posts I drifted away from Death of a Nightingale with my own musings about the charade we call Democracy and my practical suggestion for a better way of doing things.

I must now return to my play, and use my characters to say where all this is leading – to the issues the Parties prefer to avoid. Do you worry, as I do, why Western Capitalism seems so ill at ease, more than that, why it looks so sick? And why ours more than most?

What do YOU do if you are a passenger in a clapped out old banger, the driver keeps clashing the gears, doesn’t appear to know the difference between the accelerator and the brake, and you suspect you are on the wrong road anyway? YOU THINK.

I write to help you to do that, especially this post, as you will see as you read on.

In my book I explained that Special Educational Needs provided a vehicle for my journey. This is the journey. I shall complete it when I succeed in getting the play staged and publish this Blog at the same time – all of it is brain fodder – food for thought.

Let me remind you. In the first Act of the play the Head teacher of Brighouse School, Margaret Williamson, is persuaded by the Local Education Authority to argue to parents the case for the closure of her school. She sees this as an act of betrayal and, in a state of despair, she tries to take her own life. In the second Act Eileen Winterton, the chair of Governors, asks Joan Errington Margaret’s partner and the English teacher at the School to explain the nature of her despair.

There is then this short dialogue in the stage version:

JOAN ERRINGTON Yes, I think we’re getting there. If you want to know why poor Margaret tried to kill herself, don’t look just at her. And, don’t think it was all to do with the LEA either. That was literally the last straw, the straw that broke the camel’s back. You have to look at the world she lived in, as I know she saw it. She why she was so depressed, why she kept taking those goodnight pills all the time. Then you’ll begin to understand. You’ve got to dig deep. When people go as far as she went, you’ve got to dig deep to understand.

EILEEN WINTERTON I do see it now. Yes, it’s ironic isn’t it? Right at the very bottom, there are two dreams in Western Society, the Marxist dream and the Liberal dream, separately and together, both of them, the opium of the brainy classes. And why? Because they inhabit the world of “wouldn’t it be nice if.” Wouldn’t it be nice if only such as such were the case?

JOAN ERRINGTON And, of course, it very rarely is.

EILEEN WINTERTON Give a function to the State to make the world a better place, put a value on individual worth, yes, but allow for human frailty as well. They don’t do that. That’s where they both go badly wrong.

Generations have lived through, and suffered too much from the Age of Ideology. See where it has led, as people tried to give substance to their dreams, fought for them, died for them but, at the end of the day, found them, in so many cases, always round the next corner of their lives.

Equality? Harriet Harman drives a Bill through Parliament with that title to it, but have we ever been so aware of inequality in the UK as now when we hear of Bankers’ bonuses and Parliamentary perks? (Visit Post 5 to see the holes in Harriet’s bucket.)

Democracy? 35% of voters (22% of the electorate) elect 55% of the MPs but, worse than that, many are not voting for their party so much as voting against another party, and voting with their own personal agenda more than for any national agenda. Meanwhile, no one is really accountable for anything, and our rulers spend taxpayers’ money as though it was their own and they had just won the Roll-over Lottery.Another bucket with a holes in it.

Rights? Our legislators create them without realising that some people would be better off if they hadn’t; also without realising that one person’s right can be another person’s restriction. This will be news to some, especially those who do not realise that a “legal right” is often not a promise, but only a hope. Read Death of a Nightingale from cover to cover to understand all this.

Socialism? The Labour Party takes command of the controlling heights of the economy and nationalises the Banks. You would think that this would give them the command they always wanted. Remember Clause 4. But, no. They want to denationalise them just as soon as they can – and I believe them – and they cannot even use their control to stop the banks using bail-out money to pay huge bonuses, get them to provide credit for enterprises that need it or give a decent return on cash ISAs.This bucket has lost its bottom altogether.

Capitalism? The debace of Equitable Life and the continuing plight of its policy holders, Nick Leeson and the demise of Barings, the “Dot-com” bubble, Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi, the collapse of Enron and the Credit Crunch – and all in little more than one decade! Admit it – Something is very badly wrong with Capitalism – not least with its supervision. Capitalism certainly needs salesmen, but not so many of them selling money for a quick buck, rewarded for short term gain not long term profit. Too many lemmings! Too many bears too, and not enough bulls.Auditors should audit the truth into accounts and lies out, not the other way round. Computers should show up when traders are gambling with other people’s money not managing it or, worse still, gambling with money that isn’t there at all.It’s time to tweak capitalism and protect the value of our money and our savings. THE POUND HAS DROPPED. WHEN WILL THE PENNY?

Conservatism? In the credit crunch the Tories applaud the nationalisation of the banks and they have to acknowledge that the free market, self regulation and the “loose touch” contributed to the failure of the banking system to prevent toxic debt swamping the system. They have to acknowledge it, but have they taken it on board? Why don’t they throw Lord Ashworth overboard? My worry is that they still love our clapped out old banger.

Liberalism? In my experience Liberals just love to play charades, especially the charade of Democracy.The LibDems still seem to think that all you have to do to solve problems – like Special Educational Needs and Education generally – is to throw more money at them. How naïve can you get? Post 35 explains all. When will they realise that you cannot clean out the stables with a feather duster?

Karl Marx and Adam Smith must be rotating in their graves. Asquith and Jo Grimond must be making a fine speeches in theirs.

So how about an era without Communism, Fascism, Socialism, Conservatism and even Liberalism? Instead, how about an Age of Pragmatism? How about combining realism with idealism?

Here are 10 suggestions for some rules or guidelines

1. Nothing that is, or has been, must always be. (Post 1 – April 2009>older entries)
2. Sometimes we are all equal. More often we are all different.
3. Accept that there is a hierarchy of skills and talents, all have to be nurtured.
4. Promote excellence and spurn – sorry, wrong word – don’t be satisfied with mediocrity. (Post 17 )
5. Be sensitive to the differing needs of others, especially if you are contemplating strike action.
6. Fairness not Equality should provide the benchmark for human conduct.(Post 5) You can always aspire to be fair.
7. Respect is a two way street, especially in matters of faith.(Post 9)
8. People with power over others should be accountable for the way they exercise it and not, as now,be “Teflon-coated.”
9. Allow always for human frailty. It won’t go away. Ever. Accountants, in particular, please note, and acknowledge your own.
10. Above all, people and not money or dogma should control our destiny.And remember, “Give us this day our daily bread” is a prayer, not a demand!

A little less short terminism and a little more personal honesty would help too; they are, if you think about it, inter-related.

If these rules applied, for a start Education and Special Educational Needs would look quite different as would the NHS.

Two questions:

1. Just how pragmatic are YOU?

2. Which Party should win my vote?

You tell me.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010 at 12:06 pm and is filed under Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.